Exe Valley Fishery Catch Reports & News

“Loads of fish in there, none of them taking … tried everything in the box” is a phrase that has been echoing around Exe Valley on a regular basis recently. I have tried explaining how to be in with a chance of catching during the summer months both verbally & online. Some anglers are taking the advice while others I meet continue to believe that chucking & chancing with an assortment of patterns is going to succeed.

Check out this leader I picked up on the shores of Anchor Lake yesterday. The loop is not trampled or dirty so it has not been laying around all that long but the (poorly tied) Montana is rusty, which is not great considering that the hook is also of a very low quality. Total length of the leader; no more than 6 feet.

Not unusual! A leader found on the banks of Anchor Lake complete with a rusty hooked Monatna.

This is not unusual. I find similar leaders, some of them thick enough to land a decent sized Cod, during my walks around Anchor Lake. Last week I bumped into one of the anglers for a chat about his day. Unfortunately, he was not all that happy because he wasn’t catching using the thick end of a knotless tapered leader (around 5 feet) with a large Goldhead Cats Whisker attached! This despite explaining to him upon arrival that small flies, fished in the upper layers of water, using static tactics such as an indicator or with a very slow retrieve, was likely to meet with success. Catching up with him later in the day I was greeted with the “tried everything” phrase followed up quickly with “and I know what you said Nick but I like fishing heavy leaders so fish don’t snap me off when I hook them!”

Small Blobs, fished very slowly to near static is worth trying as Mike Stone with a team of young rods from Cullompton found yesterday, landing 4 fish after a late start using this popular lure tied on a #14. Meanwhile 4 other anglers who arrived much earlier blanked! Mike is an experienced angler but plenty of novices are also catching. Each week I introduce several complete beginners to fly fishing who have to learn how to cast before they can have a crack at the Trout. Often this is after lunchtime when the lake has been pressured by anglers and yet they still manage to catch.

A 10 fish haul caught on Sunday 6th August by a team of novice anglers. The Crawford family were enjoying a two day fly fishing course and caught using a mixture of Blobs, Boobies and Buzzers fished under indicators or slowly retrieved in the upper layers.

It could be said that my guests have the benefit of my assistance and are shown the correct techniques. But we are using very simple tactics, a fine leader & small flies such as Buzzers. Or we chuck out a dry fly and just wait. Sometimes we twitch a Blue Flash Damsel in the upper layers, especially in and around the feeder stream area. However, standing over these fish while thrashing the water to a foam will not meet with much in the way of success! Standing to one side of the moving water and using the current to fish the flies naturally is a far better option.

More new fly anglers. This is John Lovick on the left with a fine Trout landed on a Buzzer while his son Stuart was very pleased to connect with a similar specimen using a Blue Flash Damsel. They caught 5 fish between them on Thursday 10th August and until then had never even touched a fly rod, let alone cast one!

All of the above advice I pass on to day ticket anglers in the hope that they have a good day. No matter how many fish I stock to make it as easy as possible at this time of year the fish are simply not feeding hard and require a little more thought if a successful day is to be had. The water remains warm during the summer months, the same as every year, especially following a heatwave. While the rain is certainly helping to keep the water fresh the air temperature throughout the day and night is much the same. In these conditions the fish are more inclined to take through curiosity rather than feeding instinct. Here is another tactic ... float an egg fly (small!) under an indicator ... inquisitive fish can’t resist taking a bite!

I have been spooning fish and sometimes there are small buzzers, often there is nothing, which is also not unusual for the time of year. Lures & goldheads on heavyweight leaders are not going to catch these fish!

Please note that the fishery will be closed all day on Wednesday 16th August for maintenance and I apologise if this is inconvenient. Anchor Lake will reopen on Thursday 17th August and we have a special guest arriving in the afternoon but you will have to come fishing to meet him! :-)